The Old Weird Guy at the End of the Block is Making More Funny Noises
December 3rd, 2008Router Table may Conceivably Work
I am feeling unusually smug, and that is saying a lot.
I decided to make a final effort to stiffen up and flatten my old MDF desk, so I could put a router on one side and a miter saw on the other. I went to Home Depot today and got the stuff. Two two-by-sixes and a bunch of lag screws and washers. The idea is this: use the table saw to put straight sides on the two-by-sixes and then screw them to the underside of the desk. I was going to try to screw in from the bottom, but I decided to take Og’s advice and go down from the top. It’s just too hard, making straight holes all the way through a two-by-six with a hand drill. Going in from the top, I only need to go a couple of inches past the MDF, and if everything isn’t completely straight, I’ll never see it.
The table saw scares the daylights out of me. Ever since I saw a Sawstop promotional video featuring a guy with about six and two-thirds fingers, I have been afraid of the table saw, and if I ever get rich, I will buy a Sawstop in a heartbeat, just to put that video out of my mind.
I set it up today, and I even remembered to attach the shop-vac AND turn it on for some of the cuts. And guess what? It will true up the side of a piece of lumber. I didn’t think it would work, but it did. I now have a piece of 4 7/8″ wide lumber with a very straight side on it, and I’m going to screw it to the desk.
Unfortunately I underestimated the size of the Forstner bit I would need. I thought my 3/4″ bit would do it, but it looks like it will have to be 7/8″ to accommodate the washers under the heads of the screws. I am on hold until I get the bit.
I’m sure I used the table saw improperly. I got out my Fine Woodworking DVD and looked at parts of it, but it seems like every time I get ready to use a tool, the books and videos cease to apply to whatever it is I’m doing. I have no outfeed table, so I had to go around the saw and hold up the lumber myself, once it got to the point where it could tip. I’m not sure how this could be dangerous, but since I did it, I’m sure it is.
Any clues for handling outfeed would be appreciated. I don’t have anything approximating the height of the saw table. I guess some sort of roller deal is the easy way out. Let’s check the Home Depot site. “Roller stand.” I suppose that’s it. I need me some of those.
The two-by-six is still crooked in the other direction. That is, if you stand it on an edge and look down on it, you can see a bend. I have that figured out. I’ll pre-drill the screw holes in it, and I’ll attach a few at one end first. That will be easy, because the deflection over half the piece is small. Then I can shove the other end into line as I put the other screws in. I think.
The big question is, will the tabletop be flat once the lumber is screwed to it? If not, I’ll have to kill myself. It certainly should be. It would take a lot of force to flex that two-by-six, and the tabletop is not that rigid. I don’t even think it’s warped. I think it’s just sagging because it isn’t supported.
This is recreation, so if it doesn’t work, it’s still fun.
I impressed my father today. He has a newish copier, and the toner ran out. He also has a bunch of old toner from old machines. I told him to refill the cartridge from them. He brought it to me and told me to go to town on it.
Generally, toner cartridges have plugs you can rip out, in order to add toner. Canon has figured this out, and they don’t like people filling their cartridges, so they make their cartridges so you can’t get to the plug without destroying them. I took the Wecheer tool and a Dremel disk and cut out a rectangular piece of the cartridge, and I dumped everything out and filled it with toner. Then I covered the hole with duct tape. I saw that trick on the web. Now he has a $90 refill for absolutely nothing, and he can keep refilling the cartridge until it stops working. He probably has a pound of toner, which is a huge amount.
He can’t believe it. He thinks I’m a genius.
I absolutely love tool videos. It’s so beautiful, seeing people succeed easily at the impossible. I think I’m going to buy a few more and just watch them when I feel like I can’t cope. I’ll know that no matter how inept and pathetic I am, somewhere there is some guy who can make a dovetail joint.
I am GOING to have a woodworking table. You just watch.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 PM
Sawstop? – Go here, watch this.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHrmvQKevfI
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The Sawstop inventor puts *his* pinkie INTO the blade.
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Next. You can pretty quickly improvise an outfeed roller with some of that spare PVC you have from the pool project, and a couple of scrap lengths of plywood.
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1. Screw desired length of PVC to 2×4. Saw [rip] slot in PVC with table-saw. (Drill a couple or three large holes in the PVC, and screws go to the *inside* of the PVC into the 2×4 …so you don’t saw the screws.)
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2. Unscrew PVC from 2×4.
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3. Screw suitably “slotted” PVC on suitable length & width of plywood.
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4. Clamp plywood to what-have-you (sawhorse, chair, workmate, something), aligning the top of the PVC slightly below the surface of the tablesaw.
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5. Done. Rip your long-ish material safely, *pushing* it through.
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Or. Hmm. You’re into brother-sister healing these days. Sisters can make good shop helpers. Shop-helpers are almost as good as outfeed tables.
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Rule 1: Make it seem as if it’s fun. Rule 2: Do not EVER criticize shop helper …but keep their safety paramount.
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Believe it or not, those two rules have worked beyond my wildest expectations. My wife actually *likes* sharing shop time with me.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:14 PM
I stress jobsite safety with my guys all the time. And I give double time covering the table saw. If there is one woodworking tool that will bite you if you aren’t careful, it’s the table saw.
Two main points I drill into their heads:
1. Periodically check the blade/fence alignment. A poorly aligned fence can cause binding or kickback.
2. Pushsticks and featherboards are worth their weight in flesh. There is NEVER a good reason to put your fingers within a few inches of the spinning blade.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:41 PM
I sure do hope my boss doesn’t read this website.
I’ll be walkin’ around with clouds of toner puffin’ off my body in an attempt to save money…even though he has a contract covering the expense…he’ll figure out a way to cancel that contract without penalty, I’m sure.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:05 PM
“You just watch.”
Love to. Youtube it!
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:37 PM
I’m so glad I didn’t suggest you just go buy a new piece of MDF. Oops, there I am writing it. Well, I didn’t!
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:09 PM
I watched a guy take off the tips of 2 fingers in high school AG class. I still can’t tell you if that was worse than the girl getting her hair caught in the lathe.
Both were pretty ugly.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:51 AM
Great idea about the toner cartridges.
The SawStop is fantastic…just one question. Is a one shot deal like an airbag in a car? Can it be reset by the user or do you have to have it repaired?
December 4th, 2008 at 1:19 AM
Buy two adjustable roller outfeed supports. They’re cheaper than material to make them. And they will cover 99.99% of all support requirements.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:06 AM
In my experience, maintenance (including sharpening), patience and adjustment (like rightisright said) are the three most important things to keep in mind when using any tool that has a bite to it. I am anxiously awaiting pictures of your finished router/mitersaw table. As you know, I have limited space in my workshop/garage, so I live vicariously through you and the rest of the tool maniacs here.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Mumblix,
I saw the Sawstop guy on stick his finger into a saw on DIY network. Activating the Sawstop destroys both the blade and the gizmo that slams into the blade teeth to stop the rotation.
December 4th, 2008 at 2:44 PM
Mumblix – It’s about $60-90 for the replacement cartridge after a Sawstop “incident”, and whatever the blade cost you. So if you’re using Woodworker II premium blades (at $120 each), or some other premium blade …an incident can get pricey.
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Of course, that’s *really* cheap in comparison with a visit to an emergency surgical team. And maybe a lawyer afterward by your employee?
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The real problem with the Sawstop technology is the “false positive” that blows out your cartridge and premium blade, when no one was remotely in danger from the procedure. If you’re ripping wet lumber for example, you can turn off the sensor though (and should).
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All that said, I think if you have a business with employees, you’d be an idiot not to have Sawstop saws. And keep cartridges and blades in the stockroom. Next to the bandages (the typical injury from a Sawstop incident is a very minor cut that a little neosporin and a bandage will fix right up).
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December 4th, 2008 at 2:44 PM
Mumblix: airbag
December 4th, 2008 at 4:07 PM
Careful with the toner thing, some machines will choke on non-OEM tone alone, much less toner from a different model. The electrical properties and melting temps are different most times. Then on the other hand, you might get away with swapping toners forever if you are real lucky. We have trouble getting them to run on the OEM stuff sometimes.
December 4th, 2008 at 4:16 PM
Well, that would only ruin the cartridge. Which is already old.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:37 PM
I see, I service machines that have individual components.